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An Employee Participated in the 5th Annual Blues, Views, and BBQ Festival

Lynn Goodwin, VP Facilities, is a long-time MSLO employee who has a passion for BBQ and would like to share this recent event that she and her BBQ team participated in.

Since 2008, our team, Psycho Grillers, has competed in the Blues, Views, and BBQ Festival in downtown Westport, CT. The two-day Festival, sponsored by the Westport Downtown Merchants Association and The Levitt Pavilion, is a great time, bringing together the worlds of BBQ and Blues on the banks of the scenic Saugatuck River. The two-day event features a full live music line-up, activities for children and families, and craft beer (a great complement to great barbecue).

Psycho Grillers took on twenty-two other amateur teams in the "Cookin’ for a Cause” competition. These teams of backyard chefs compete for trophies (and bragging rights) in four categories: chicken, pork ribs, chef's choice, and dessert. The main rule? Everything has to be cooked on a charcoal grill or smoker. Entries are scored by Kansas City BBQ Society-approved judges on appearance, texture, and taste. In addition to awards for individual categories, the Grand Champion trophy is awarded to the team with the highest overall score for the day. In prior years, Psycho Grillers has won trophies for Ribs, Chef’s Choice, and took the Grand Championship in 2009! The team entry fees are donated to the Westport Women’s Club Food Closet. The Food Closet was started in 1975 as an Emergency Food Distribution Program under the leadership of the Westport Department of Human Services, and it supplies over 500 grocery bags of non-perishable food to town residents in need each year. We had great fun cooking, visiting with friends who stopped by, and testing our skills on the grill. Plus, we took home third place overall. It’s inspiring to experience the community coming together for a greater cause, and we’ve already been thinking about how to take home that Grand Champion trophy next year.

2 The Psycho Grillers team must submit to all four categories to be eligible for the Grand Champion. Categories are spaced 30 minutes apart to allow time to prepare the boxes for each category.

3 After getting the coals lit, Scott and Gregg waited for the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) representatives to inspect their meat so they could start prepping and cooking.

4 The team had a lot of competition—23 teams entered, with all of the proceeds going to charity.

5 Gregg prepared the pork ribs with mustard and a dry rub of spices. At home, the teams usually put the rub on the night before, but KCBS rules don’t allow for rubs, injections, or marinades before inspection.

6 Gregg put the ribs onto the smoker. While teams only need to turn in 6 pieces, they usually cook more so they can pick the best of the batch. This smoker has another wire rack with more ribs inside.

7 The team rigged a thermometer to keep their eye on temperatures. For ribs, the rule of thumb is ‘low and slow’, about 225 degrees for 5 hours, with some apple wood chunks thrown in for flavor.

8 Time to switch the ribs on the top rack with the bottom rack and spritz them with some apple juice. See how the meat is starting to pull back from the bone? That’s a good thing!

9 About 30 minutes before the ribs had finished cooking, Gregg applied the sauce and put them back into the smoker for finish.

10 Preparing the box is a science for BBQ competitions. Judges look for uniformity, color and bark (the exterior finish). It can’t just taste good, it has to look like it tastes good!

11 About 30 minutes before the chicken had finished cooking, Scott gave each chicken thigh a bath in their top-secret sauce.

12 Once the sauce had been applied, the thighs went back on the smoker to give the sauce time to firm up on each piece.

13 The finished chicken box - One piece for each of the six judges who will grade the entry. Each judge will sample four to six teams’ entries for all four categories. That’s a lot of barbecue!

14 The team was hard at work as Lynn spied on the neighbors to see what they were making. On the front table, they displayed their awards from prior years, including their Grand Champion trophy. The team logo sits in the upper left corner of the tent.

15 For the Chef’s Choice category, the team had decided to prepare smoked oysters with a crab meat stuffing.

16 Making the crab meat stuffing - They chose a lump crab, since it provides bigger, meatier pieces, even after the rigors of mixing with other ingredients.

17 The smoked oysters were presented on a bed of coral-colored sea salt for contrast. Chef’s Choice and Dessert categories don’t have the same Styrofoam box requirements as ribs and chicken.

18 Gregg and Ruta walked the Chef’s Choice entry, smoked oysters with crab meat stuffing, up the hill to the judge’s tent.